Page 43 - Flathead Beacon // 8.27.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM BUSINESS MONTHLY ENERGIZING THOUGHTS David Bopp
AUGUST 27, 2014 | 43
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LAND
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LAKEFRONT
Upper Thompson Lake - $279,000 Little Rainbow Lake - $179,000 Island Lake - From $95,000 - $125,000
Kootenai River 300 Ft. Frontage - $250,000
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Recently remodeled 3 bed 3 bath home on 5 acres off Columbia Falls Stage Rd with great views $445,000
Custom Home in Bigfork Area, 3,000 sq. ft. incredible scenery $379,000
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Toast to an Efficient Home
HOME-BAKED BREAD IS good toasted (especially with huckleberry jam). Bagels are good toasted. I especially like toasted English muffins. Houses on the other hand are not so good toasted, yet if you live in this valley your whole house or at least part of it probably is.
Electric resistance heat is a toaster with fancy packaging; baseboards, in- wall heaters, furnaces, boilers, water heaters and every plug-in space heater money can buy. If someone proposed heating your house with one huge toast- er or maybe a toaster in each room, you would laugh at them and yet you prob- ably do just this. Is your whole home or part of it toasted? Mine was.
The toaster heating element was in- vented in 1905 and it hasn’t changed much since. Innovative people learned how to fit them into a lot of different con- tainers. They also learned how to market and sell them in these new containers so we perceived them as higher in efficiency.
Do you use any other technology in your life that hasn’t changed since 1905? Over the years we have changed the technology for insulation, windows, water proofing, concrete, siding, appli- ances, phones, internet, cable and even how we use wooden studs. Only electric- resistance heat has stayed the same. I think it is high time this ended. Who am I to say?
I am someone who has seen the sav- ings of high-efficiency heating systems first hand. I have personally experi- enced and enjoyed the increased com- fort. I help provide rebates and loans to help you upgrade, and I am a believer in heat pumps.
Heat pumps: high-efficiency elec- tric heat. Heat pumps have been around a long time, with the first being built in 1857. They couldn’t heat a house, but a lot about this technology has changed in the last 150 years. In the last 20 years alone, heat pumps have taken a huge leap and
arenowcapableofquiteamazingfeats ofhomeheating.Whenitiszerodegrees outside some heat pump systems can still provide all the heat your home needs from the energy found in the zero degree outside air. I think heat pumps for homes are the best thing since sliced bread.
Not only do I promote them but I walk the talk. I had my ductless heat pump installed two and a half years ago and I haven’t looked back since. In the time that I’ve had my heat pump I have completed a full, deep energy retrofit of my basement and as a result, doubled the amount of heated area in my home. Plus we are now a family of four up from two. Despite this increase in family size and heated area my overall heating costs (electric and wood) have dropped dras- tically. Even better, my house became much more comfortable during the win- ter and summer (heat pumps provide high-efficiency AC).
A larger home, larger family, in- creased comfort year round, and the lower heating costs; what is not to love? I still have my toasters and in-wall heat- ers, but they are only allowed on for a couple of short periods each day in back bedrooms and the master bath. I do also call upon them during the rare occa- sion where our temperatures drop below negative 10. No longer am I toasting my house and I’m loving it.
Why are you still toasting? What are you waiting for? Do you know about the rebates from Flathead Electric? If your home qualifies you could receive up to $1,000 to install a heat pump and stop toasting your way through the winter. Do you know about the low-interest loans Flathead Electric offers to help you in- stall a heat pump? Why wait? Get ready for winter before winter catches you.
Raise your glass with me as I propose a toast (pun intended): “To heat pumps, the future of comfort and efficiency. May the toasters in your house be left to what they do wel l ... toasting bread.”
Have you
or in
lived, worked played Libby, Montana for at least 6 months,
If so, you may be eligible for a free
AT LEAST 10 YEARS AGO?
Asbestos Health Screening
For more information, please call toll free
1-855-891-CARD(2273)
or visit us online at www.libbyasbestos.org
David Bopp is the energy services representative at Flathead Electric Co-op
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